After native RAR support on Windows 11, here is WinRAR’s answer

At the recent Microsoft Build conference, an important announcement was made: native support for RAR files by Windows 11. This news, expected for decades, eliminates the need to use WinRAR to open these files. WinRAR reacted to this novelty.

While we were reviewing the latest in Windows 11 at Microsoft’s recent Build conference, a no less pleasant detail caught our eye. One feature we’re sure got a standing ovation from all Windows users: native RAR file support.

Yes, you read correctly. You no longer need to turn to WinRAR, this essential tool whose pop-up demo version is more persistent than the chewing gum stuck at the bottom of your shoe. Microsoft, in its boundless wisdom, decided to give us what we have been waiting for for decades. What I’m saying is, what we always knew we wanted: Opening .RAR files without the need for WinRAR.

The RAR format has been around for 30 years

“ It took Microsoft 30 years to implement support for RAR files in Windows said Louise Cosworth of the WinRAR sales team. You can feel the entertainment mixed with the indignation. After all, who would have thought that Microsoft would finally wake up and implement this feature in 2023?

But what will these gentry WinRAR developers do now that their usefulness is in danger of fading? After all, they’ve spent years building powerful software capable of extracting files of all shapes and sizes into compression. They bravely faced the competition, fighting for every download. Now they must face the reality of the end of their reign.

Of course they are worried. Microsoft has just trespassed its territory. But, as Louise Cosworth points out, there may be more anxious people out there. After all, WinRAR is not the only tool capable of opening RAR files.

So what is left for WinRAR?

So what is left for WinRAR? They hope that this move by Microsoft will make RAR compression more popular and accessible. And they still hope that there will be enough people to support their small business, to allow them to continue developing WinRAR. After all, without WinRAR, who would constantly remind us that our trial version had expired?

WinRAR uses a proprietary compression algorithm, RAR, by default, but is also able to compress in ZIP format and extract archives in 7z, bzip2, ARJ, CAB, gzip, ISO, JAR, LZH, TAR, UUE and Z archives.

The battle is not over yet. Microsoft plans to roll out support for compression formats in several stages, and specific file compression software is still required. WinRAR can still fight for every user and every download.

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